The assurance was given by the MoneyGram Regional Compliance Director, Mr. Chris Botes, during a visit with some bank executives to the Executive Chairman of the EFCC, Mrs Farida Waziri, in Cotonou on Sunday. He said, “MoneyGram and its partner banks in Benin Republic will continue to pro-actively fight fraud in Benin Republic and in specific, guard against being used by trans-national fraud syndicates.”

Botes also promised that his organisation would always utilise modern information technology, which automatically screened and filtered transactions to counter fraud and money laundering. He said that MoneyGram with its partner banks in Benin Republic would proactively identify fraud even as they handled transactions and customers with due skill, due care and due diligence.
He gave the assurance of his organisation’s willingness to collaborate with EFCC, the Benin Republic Financial Intelligence Unit, other law enforcement agencies and regulators in implementing the anti- money laundering regime in the country.

Waziri called on MoneyGram and other money transfer companies to take into cognisance the fact that Benin Republic was not yet developed, technologically, in order to put in place mechanism to check fraudulent activities involved in transferring money to and from Benin Republic.

By Olufemi Adeosun, Culled from the Punch Newspapers